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LEGWOLD: Broncos will need touchdowns, but Steelers are stingy

Published October 16, 2007 at midnight

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ENGLEWOOD — In the celebration of baseball in and around the metroplex, it stands to reason the Broncos get a curveball this week.

The ol’ Uncle Charlie, the yakker, a real 12-to-6 beauty.

That’s because much of the angst and discourse about the Broncos’ 2-3 start thus far has centered around their defense, the one that’s currently last in the league against the run and tied for 27th in points allowed per game.

And certainly the Broncos will have to find a little more than that against the Steelers on Sunday night.

But to find the win they desperately need at this point, they will need their own offense to go from first downs to touchdowns.

Just moving the ball won’t get it against Pittsburgh, not this year.

The Steelers have the league’s No. 1 defense in yards and points allowed per game.

And the man behind the big headset is Dick LeBeau.

LeBeau is in his second stint as Steelers defensive coordinator, but he has been stirring things up in the league for more than three decades.

People know his game, but LeBeau, calling plays under first-year Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, has been set free.

LeBeau worked plenty successfully with former Steelers coach Bill Cowher. But Cowher, a former defensive coordinator, was known for his heavy hand in the defensive playbook — both through the week and on game day.

LeBeau ran those defenses just fine. They played fierce and were difficult to attack.

But, in many ways, LeBeau was outside the box before there was a box. And Tomlin, also a former defensive coordinator, has elected to give LeBeau far more freedom in what the Steelers do.

The result: The Steelers posted a shutout two Sundays ago without two Pro Bowl selections — safety Troy Polamalu and nose tackle Casey Hampton — in the lineup.

They are now an ever-changing formation before the snap, giving quarterbacks fits, and defensive end Brett Keisel — a native of Greybull, Wyo. — has been the most movable piece on the board as he shows up all over the field.

Eight different Steelers have produced sacks in five games, and Pittsburgh hasn’t surrendered a 100-yard rusher in the past 30 games.

The Broncos are missing two starters in the offensive line, running back Travis Henry is fighting a suspension and coming off treatment for knee and ankle injuries, and Denver has found touchdowns hard to come by.

Hope they’re all rested.

Get it done

When the Broncos won at Pittsburgh last season, they were plus-6 in turnovers. Denver forced six fumbles, recovering three of them, and intercepted Ben Roethlisberger three times.

The Broncos got the early lead — 14-0 in the first quarter — and Javon Walker had 134 yards receiving to go with a 72-yard touchdown run.

Times change, however.

This season, the Steelers have outscored their first five opponents 57-6 in the first half, they are plus-4 in turnovers, and Walker has missed the Broncos’ past two games because of swelling on the back of his surgically repaired right knee.

All in all, the Broncos, having been outscored 61-46 in the first half this season, have to find some continuity out of the gate. The scripted portion of the opening half must yield some points, because playing from behind is not the way to deal with the Pittsburgh defense.

Match game

Broncos LBs vs. Steelers RB Willie Parker

Parker might be only 5-foot-10, 209 pounds, but the Steelers hand him the ball like he’s a much bigger back.

Last season, on his way to 1,494 yards rushing, Parker carried the ball at least 22 times in eight games, and in four of those he had at least 29 carries. He’s explosive, and if he clears the first wave of defenders, a big play is in the offing.

He’s lower than most defenders, so those who don’t take his legs out from under him usually watch him add a little more on to the run.

The Broncos have not consistently tackled well this season, and they will have to in this one or it’s almost a sure thing they will add another tally mark to the loss column.

Parker has 17 career 100-yard games, including four this season. The Steelers are 16-1 in those games.

Break it down

At its best, LeBeau’s zone blitz — a defensive lineman or two drops out of the rush as other players at linebacker or the secondary are added — has always been difficult for a quarterback to read.

The difficulty comes from players showing up unexpectedly in the passing lanes. But it’s also tough for the quarterback to find the rushers before the snap because the same players don’t always come upfield.

It also can be difficult for offensive linemen to pick and choose whom to take and whom to pass off to the adjacent lineman.

LeBeau’s scheme has been especially difficult to read this season because players like James Farrior, who weren’t often added to the rush in the past, are showing up all the time this season. Farrior leads the team with four sacks.

Pro personnel scouts say the Steelers have manufactured the majority of their sacks out of four- and five-man rushes. The difficulty for the quarterback and his linemen is most of those four- and five-man rushes are coming out of seven- and eight-man fronts.

The Broncos will have to find the four or five headed to the quarterback before one of them gets to Jay Cutler.

That might mean balancing out the formation with some two-tight-end looks so the Steelers have a more difficult time disguising their overloading one side of the formation or the other.

Hot spot

Last season, besides intercepting three of his passes, the Broncos sacked Roethlisberger four times in a 31-20 Denver win. Despite Roethlisberger’s 433 yards passing in the November game, the Broncos forced turnovers on the Steelers’ last two possessions to close things out.

However, in the Broncos’ playoff loss to the Steelers to end the 2005 season, Roethlisberger stood largely unbothered in the pocket to go 21-of-29 passing with two touchdowns.

The Broncos have had neither a sack nor forced a turnover in their past two games, but they’ll need consistent pressure in this one. In Pittsburgh’s previous game, the Seahawks did sack Roethlisberger three times, but Seattle also forced just four incompletions.

The Broncos need to force the issue up front, especially in the middle of the field, and get up into Roethlisberger’s face, which hasn’t happened consistently this season.